Public Expenditure: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there are Barnett consequentials for Wales of the Regional Growth Fund announced on 29 June 2010.

Danny Alexander: Funding for the Regional Growth Fund will be determined in the spending review. The Barnett formula will be applied in the spending review in the normal way.

Public Sector: Pensions

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he has received on the contractual rights of public service pensioners to have their pensions up-rated annually in line with increases in the retail prices index.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 13 September 2010
	The emergency Budget announced that from April 2011 the indexation of benefits, tax credits and the state second pension will be based on the consumer prices index (CPI) instead of the retail price index (RPI). This change will also apply to public service pensions through the statutory link to the indexation of the additional pensions, in long-term benefits (including the state second pension).
	The change in future uprating of public service pensions to CPI applies to new pensions coming into payment, pensions currently in payment and to future uprating of deferred pension rights. The change in indexation is forward looking, so future increases in the value of deferred pensions, or pensions in payment will be based on the CPI while past upratings of public service pensions in line with RPI will not be affected.
	Public service pensions will continue to be index linked and continue to protect individual pensions against increases in the cost of living.

Tax Increment Financing

Ben Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the future of tax increment financing schemes for major developments.

David Gauke: On 20 September the Deputy Prime Minister announced that Government will introduce tax increment financing powers for local authorities in England as a-means of supporting investment in key local infrastructure and unlocking higher levels of economic growth. The Government will set out more on the framework within which Tax Increment Financing powers will operate through its forthcoming White Paper on sub-national growth after the spending review.

VAT: Crown Dependencies

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the level of  (a) fraudulent claims and  (b) other abuse of low value consignment relief in respect of imports from Crown dependencies; and what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to (i) detect and (ii) reduce such abuse in the last two years.

David Gauke: No estimate of the level of fraudulent claims has been made due to the difficulty of establishing the facts. This is because case law in this area as to what amounts to an abusive practice is unclear.
	The UKBA apply risk based controls to detect and take action against inaccurate claims to, or abuse of, the import VAT relief and, as I told the House in my written answer to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), on 13 July 2010,  Official Report, column 661W, the Government are actively reviewing the operation of low value consignment relief.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to respond to questions  (a) 11575, tabled on 22 July 2010 and  (b) 12560, tabled on 27 July 2010, on the 2010 Budget; what the reason is for the time taken to reply; and what guidance his Department issues on the period within which replies should be provided to questions for ordinary written answer.

David Gauke: I apologise for the delay in replying to the hon. Member and will arrange for replies to be provided very soon.

Children: Computers

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many households in Washington and Sunderland West constituency  (a) applied for and  (b) received vouchers under the Home Access scheme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: The Home Access programme provides computers and broadband internet access to low income households. The number of households at 7 September 2010 who have  (a) applied for the programme in Sunderland is 1,975, with 133 being rejected as ineligible, and 147 being returned to the applicant with a request for further information. The number  (b) receiving payment awards is 1,687. The programme is based on local authority areas, so the figures are provided by the Sunderland local authority area as a whole, as the data is not available by parliamentary constituency.

Eyes: Testing

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he made an estimate of the number of  (a) men and  (b) women who received a free NHS eye test in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Simon Burns: The General Ophthalmic Services Activity Statistics for England and Wales, published by the Information Centre for health and social care, showed that in England there were 11.278 million national health service funded sight tests in 2008-09 and 11.812 million NHS funded sight tests in 2009-10. The data published by the NHS Information Centre provides a breakdown of these figures by eligible groups only.
	The data does not allow us to estimate how many of these NHS sight tests were provided to men or women.

Business: Government Assistance

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises received assistance from the public purse in the form of  (a) grants,  (b) tax relief,  (c) investment allowances and  (d) other financial assistance in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10; and what the average grant made under each category was in each such year.

Mark Prisk: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Grants-expenditure on SMEs
	
		
			  Grant for research and development  2008/09  2009/10 
			 Total number of business assists 354 (1)n/a 
			 Average grant offer (£) 74,582.52 (1)n/a 
			 (1) Not available. RDAs have not yet reported aggregate figures for business receiving support in 2009/10. 
		
	
	
		
			  Technology Strategy Board (TSB) 
			  Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)  2008/09  2009/10 
			  Classic   
			 Number 995 1,025 
			 Average grant (£) 85,985 87,585 
			
			  Shorter   
			 Number 3 82 
			 Average grant (£) 15,453 17,751 
			  Note: Classic projects are 1-3 years duration and shorter projects 10 to 40 weeks (with the latter being launched in July 2009). The above figures represent the number of individual SMEs participating In KTP projects during each year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Collaborative research and development  2008/09  2009/10 
			 Number 235 218 
			 Average grant (£) 91,644 138,991 
		
	
	 (b) Tax reliefs
	Around 2,500 small and medium companies benefit each year from company tax reliefs that are available in the form of payable credits for qualifying expenditure on research and development, land remediation and film production; around a further 6,000 benefit by taking these reliefs in the form of reduced tax liability. Numbers specifically for 2008-09 and 2009-10 are not yet available, but estimated costs are published on the HM Revenue and Customs website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-5.pdf
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table-b1.pdf
	and
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/randdtcmenu.htm
	 (c) Investment allowances
	HM Revenue and Customs estimate that in 2008-09 (the latest tax year for which data are currently available) around 900,000 small- and medium-sized companies and around 1.2 million self-employed individuals and partnerships claimed capital allowances. It is estimated that these companies' tax liabilities for 2008/09 were around £7,000 lower on average and these individuals' and partnerships' tax liabilities for 2008/09 were around £2,000 lower on average as a result of using capital allowances. Figures for 2009/10 are not yet available.
	 (d) Other financial assistance
	
		
			  Small Business Research Initiative  2008/09  2009/10 
			 Number - 239 
			 Average contract (£) 0 59,087 
		
	
	 Grant for Business Investment scheme (GBI)
	The total number and value of the GBI offers accepted and payments made to SMEs are as follows:
	
		
			   2008/09  2009/10 
			   Number  Value (£000)  Average (£000)  Number  Value (£000)  Average (£000) 
			 Offers accepted 289 34,946 121 295 44,434 151 
			 Payments made 617 33,923 55 492 29,033 59 
			  Notes: 1. Payments made during 2008/09 and 2009/10 include payments on prior projects for which the offer was accepted In an earlier year. 2. For the purposes of these figures a SME is defined as having less than 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding £50 million. 3. All data relate to tier 1, 2 and 3 areas. 
		
	
	 Small Firms Loan Guarantee
	The Small Firms Loan Guarantee and Enterprise Finance Guarantee are loan guarantees through which the Government guarantees additional lending by accredited lenders including the main high street banks rather than to provide direct assistance to small and medium sized enterprises.
	Under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee, there were 2,368 loans with a total value of £178 million in the financial year 2008/09 (average loan size of £75,350), and 16 loans with a value of £600,000 in 2009/10 (average loan size approximately £37,500). The Small Firms Loan Guarantee was replaced by the Enterprise Finance Guarantee.
	 Enterprise Finance Guarantee
	The Enterprise Finance Guarantee came into operation in January 2009. Between 14 January 2009 and 31 April 2010, 9,237 businesses were offered loans with a value of £947.1 million, of which 8,344 businesses have drawn down loans totalling £850.6 million. The average size of loans drawn is around £101,940.
	 Capital for Enterprise Ltd.
	BIS has assisted 153 businesses in 2008/09 and 170 businesses in 2009/10 through a range of venture capital funds delivered through Capital for Enterprise Ltd. These include the Enterprise Capital Fund programme, the UK Innovation Investment Fund, and the Capital for Enterprise Fund. Details of these funds can be found at the CfEL website:
	www.capitalforenterprise.gov.uk
	 Regional development agency (RDA)
	The regional development agencies (RDAs) provide access to finance support and advice to small business through the business support products provided by Solutions for Business. In 2008/09 RDAs reported that:
	233 small businesses received assistance for equity investment and loans through Finance for Business;
	2,388 small businesses received advice and support through Understanding Finance for Business;
	299 small businesses received micro finance through Small Loans for Business.
	RDAs have not yet reported aggregate figures for business receiving support and investment in 2009/10.

Paternity Leave

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses with less than 10 employees his Department consulted on its decision to retain additional paternity leave.

Edward Davey: Regulations introducing Additional Paternity Leave were made by Parliament in April 2010, with effect for parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011. The policy they implement was subject to a number of consultation exercises under the previous administration, to which small businesses and their representatives made a significant contribution. Details of the consultations, including responses from business, are available at:
	www.bis.gov.uk
	The coalition is proceeding with the introduction of Additional Paternity Leave as an interim measure towards fulfilling of our commitment to encourage shared parenting from the earliest stages of pregnancy-including the promotion of a system of flexible parental leave.
	We want to give parents and employers the flexibility they need-that is why we will be consulting on radical ideas on how to make shared parental leave work not just for parents but also the businesses that employ them.
	It is estimated that less than 3% of small businesses will be affected by Additional Paternity Leave over the course of the Parliament.

Employment Schemes: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an estimate of the number of people in Peterborough constituency who were participating in  (a) community taskforce,  (b) routes into work and  (c) work-focused training programmes on 30 April 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The answers are as follows:
	 (a) The number participating on Community Task Force on the 30 April 2010 is not available. However, 90 people are recorded as having started Community Task Force in the Peterborough constituency during the period October 2009 to July 2010.
	 (b) Information on starts to Routes into Work is not available.
	 (c) The number participating on the Young Person's Guarantee Work Focused Training on the 30 April 2010 is not available. However, 520 people are recorded as having started Work Focused Training in the East of England region during the period October 2009 to July 2010.

Employment Schemes: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent progress has been made on his Department's work programme, with particular reference to Peterborough constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling: The commercial process for the Work programme is on track. The Invitation to Tender for the Framework for Employment Related Support Services ("the Framework") was published on the 23 August, and we are currently evaluating tenders. We expect to be able to announce who has been successful before the end of the year. The Framework will be divided into 11 geographical lots; the East of England lot includes Peterborough.
	Once the announcement has been made regarding which organisations have gained access to the Framework, we will run a mini-competition for those organisations on the Framework interested in delivering the Work programme.

Older People: Anniversaries

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of  (a) payments under and  (b) administration of a scheme under which people are sent £1,000 on their 100th birthdays.

Steve Webb: The cost of such a payment would be around £4.9 million in 2010, rising to £10.2 million in 2020. High level estimates of the full cost of administrating such a scheme are £52,000 in 2010 rising to £128,000 by 2020.
	The cost of the payment and its administration would continue to increase over time in line with changing demographics.
	 Note:
	Estimates are derived using Office of National Statistics 2008-based population projections. The estimated administration cost assumes the centenarian is already in receipt of state pension or pension credit, living in Great Britain, and represents the costs of making an additional clerical payment.

Poverty: Children

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in poverty  (a) before housing costs and  (b) after housing costs in Gateshead borough in each year since 2000.

Maria Miller: Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.
	As they are based on survey data, child poverty estimates published in HBAI only allow breakdowns to Government Office Region and analysis at local authority level is not possible. However, figures for the North East of England are set out in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and percentage of children living in households with less than 60% of contemporary median household income for the North East of England, before housing costs and after housing costs 
			   Before Housing Costs  After Housing Costs 
			  Period  Number (million)  Percentage  Number (million)  Percentage 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 0.2 32 0.2 36 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 0.2 30 0.2 33 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 0.2 31 0.2 34 
			 2003-04 to 2005-06 0.2 28 0.2 32 
			 2004-05 to 2006-07 0.2 28 0.2 33) 
			 2005-06 to 2007-08 0.1 28 0.2 33 
			 2006-07 to 2008-09 0.1 28 0.2 34 
			  Notes: 1. These statistics are based on the Households Below Average Income series, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. Three survey years have been combined as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication 'Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) modified equivalisation factors.  Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP

Social Security Benefits

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of households in each  (a) parliamentary constituency and  (b) region in respect of which benefits of over £500 a week are claimed.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available at a parliamentary constituency level.
	The information is available for Great Britain. Latest estimates show that in 2010-11 there are around 100,000 working age households in receipt of more than £500 a week in all benefits and tax credits, including disability living allowance. If disability living allowance is excluded then around 50,000 working age households are in receipt of more than £500 a week.
	The Chancellor's announcement of a benefit cap was informed by high-level consideration of the broad impacts. We are now working up the more detailed design of the caps as part of the spending review. When we introduce legislation for the implementation of the caps, we shall publish an impact assessment.
	 Note
	All figures are rounded to the nearest 50,000.
	 Source
	DWP Policy Simulation Model, based on the 2008-09 Family Resources Survey data.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of households in  (a) Scotland,  (b) Glasgow and  (c) Glasgow East constituency which receive more than £500 a week in (i) all benefits and (ii) all benefits excluding disability living allowance.

Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available as sample sizes are too small to yield reliable results for Scotland and is not available at a parliamentary constituency level.
	The information is available for Great Britain. Latest estimates show that in 2010-11 there are:
	(i) around 100,000 working age households in receipt of more than £500 a week in all benefits and tax credits, including disability living allowance, and
	(ii) around 50,000 working age households in receipt of more than £500 a week in all benefits and tax credits, excluding disability living allowance.
	The Chancellor's announcement of a benefit cap was informed by high-level consideration of the broad impacts. We are now working up the more detailed design of the caps as part of the spending review. When we introduce legislation for the implementation of the caps, we shall publish an impact assessment.
	 Note
	All figures are rounded to the nearest 50,000.
	 Source
	DWP Policy Simulation Model, based on the 2008-09 Family Resources Survey data.

Winter Fuel Payments

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an estimate of the number of  (a) men and  (b) women who received winter fuel allowance payments in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Steve Webb: The information for 2008-09 is available on page 1 of the document Winter Fuel Payments 2008-09, Final Individual Payments by GOR/LA and Parliamentary Constituency. This is available in the House of Commons Library.
	The information for 2009-10 is available on page 1 of the document Winter Fuel Payment recipients 2009-2010 by Parliamentary Constituencies and Gender (All). I am today placing a copy in the House of Commons Library together with other documents in the Winter Fuel Payments 2009-10 series. They are also available on the internet at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=wfp

Work Capability Assessment: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the agency contracted to provide medical examinations as part of the Work Capability Assessment has been issued with specific guidance on the assessment of persons presenting a diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Chris Grayling: All health care professionals working for Atos Healthcare are required to read an evidence based protocol on chronic fatigue syndrome as part of their induction training. This was last updated in January 2010. In addition, all health care professionals are required to engage in a programme of continuing medical education which includes two modules on chronic fatigue syndrome. These were last updated in April 2009 and March 2010 respectively.

Departmental Manpower

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) officials of his Department and  (b) external advisers are working on his Department's review of the Government's overseas aid spending.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) is conducting two reviews; the Bilateral Aid Review (BAR) and Multilateral Aid Review (MAR). It has also commissioned a third independent review of the UK's humanitarian emergency response capability and is providing the Secretariat for this review. The teams co-ordinating the BAR and MAR both consist of four officials. Two external reviewers will also act as peer reviewers during the course of the MAR. The Humanitarian and Emergency Response Review (HERR) team is made up of six officials, one consultant and one secondee from the Development Assistance Research Associates. In addition to these teams, staff across DFID are providing inputs into all three reviews and it is, therefore, not possible to determine the total number of officials working on these reviews without incurring disproportionate cost.

BBC External Services

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent research his Department has  (a) evaluated and  (b) commissioned on the effects on each receiving country of the BBC World Service (i) broadcast radio and (ii) foreign language websites.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not commissioned any recent research on the effects of the BBC World Service.
	The BBC World Service itself recently conducted independent research into the audiences of four of their major markets: Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya and Turkey, in addition to its on-going programme of audience measurement and evaluation.

BBC Russian Service

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the level of influence of  (a) the BBC Russian Service on Russian society and  (b) the English-language Russian channel on the UK since 1989.

Jeremy Browne: The BBC World Service carried out an extensive survey of the audience for their Russian language service in November 2009. This survey included audience perceptions of the BBC World Service Russian service. It found that the BBC is a clearly recognised brand, and evidence shows the audience for the BBC Russian service grows in times of crisis.
	Neither the Foreign and Commonwealth Office nor the BBC World Service has carried out a specific survey of the level of influence of 'Russia Today' in the UK.

Saudi Arabia: Exports

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he plans to take together with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to increase British exports to Saudi Arabia.

Alistair Burt: The Government are strongly committed to improving commercial relations through the Gulf Initiative.
	Our exports to Saudi Arabia were £4.8 billion last year and we want this to go on rising.
	I will chair the next Two Kingdoms' Dialogue, which will focus on maximising co-operation in the Education, Healthcare and Tourism sectors.

Shaiboub Arsal

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he  (a) has made recent representations to the government of Egypt on the detention of Shaiboub William Arsal and  (b) plans to make such representations.

Alistair Burt: The UK regularly raises human rights matters of concern with the Egyptian Government. Mr Arsal is one of over 10,000 prisoners in Egypt who is reported to be detained without a final sentence. In our view, it is fairer and ultimately more effective, to address the common human rights concerns behind each of these cases, rather than to raise each case individually. For example, the UK supports the EU's €10 million project on the 'Support and Modernisation of Administration of Justice and Enhancement of Security' which is expected to reduce the backlog of cases in Egyptian courts. Given our overall approach, the Government currently have no plans to raise Mr Arsal's case with the Egyptian Government.